Showing all newswire headlines

I asked for successes at schools using Open Source Software, and I received a wide variety of them. Although schools aren't typically thought of as a small business, I believe if a technology will work in schools it will work anywhere.

An open source systems deployment at Orwell High School in Felixstowe, Suffolk, has reportedly been abandoned by the school's IT manager, leaving pupils with a hybrid OSS/proprietary system that is far from useable, and has impacted the pupils' academic performance.

[Sounds like someone needed to think about the 7 Ps - yes, all 7 of them. - dcparris]

The story of how a Toronto school's fully functional Linux lab was replaced with an elderly Microsoft system is spreading.

Based on VAR demand, Bell Microproducts has signed a deal to become a certified distributor of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

The article explains how to setup Nexenta Zones via remote Debian APT repository and shows some benefits of using OpenSolaris Zone HW virtualization technology.

Last time we left off after installing Webmin. Now it's time to configure the two network interfaces, then lock down security. Obviously, a firewall, like any network border device, must be highly secure.

In Monday's issue of InformationWeek, I take a closer look at the latest turns in SCO's quixotic court fight against IBM. To get you through the weekend, here's a critical tidbit you need to know about now if you're a Linux user, or if you're even thinking about using Linux.

[Please note that I have categorized this as humor - couldn't figure out how else to classify it. - dcparris]

The open source graphics community is debating the creation of an open specification for a new raster graphics file format. Many feel that the time has come to define an extensible, shared format to exchange complex documents between a variety of application programs -- including raster image editors, viewers, and related tools like vector and page-layout programs.

Norwegian open source software company Trolltech completed an IPO on July 5 and is now listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (Oslo Børs).

Microsoft backed down on its proprietary stance over document formats but, if it was hoping for a pat on the back from the wider internet community, it should have known better.

[A better headline would have been "Microsoft proves how obstinate they are". - dcparris]

I sent a copy of the Letter to the Ontario Minister of Education about software policy. I asked if if school boards are under Access to Information legislation, as well as any exclusive agreements or policy that school boards of the province may have with software vendors that would exclude teachers from using alternatives. My trustee forwarded the letter to staff.

[This is a follow-up to Toronto high school expels Linux lab. The author is the member of CLUE who received the letter from the high school teacher. -- grouch]

The Zenwalk team on July 2 released its first live CD version, ZenLive 2.6, featuring a 2.6.16.16 kernel and the latest (v4.3.90.2) XFCE windowing environment. The new distribution takes advantage of the latest current Zenwalk updates, which include extensive UDEV support.

Net Neutrality is a snowball.That is, it's an idea that started small but grew steadily as it rolled forward, gaining mass and speed as it accreted the passions and opinions of many -- on all sides of the issue. Today the topic is so large and complex that it's hard to find where it began. It has also become so highly politicized that it may sink the telecom reform legislation that carriers have been working on sincethe last round of reform, in 1996.

Debian has issued an update for xine-lib. This fixes a weakness, which can be exploited by malicious people to crash certain applications on a user's system.

One IP attorney says the suit, which relates to JBoss' Hibernate 3.0 object mapping technology, could have serious ramifications for the Linux company and other software developers.

Tired of bogus software patents? So are we! To combat these annoying and often dangerous legal weapons, EFF has launched the Patent Busting Project to take down some of worst offenders.

I am, as you may have noticed, unequivocally in favor of the adoption of free and open source software by schools and governments. I have also spent a considerable portion of my career in ed-tech creating tools that support interoperability via open standards like RDF, iCalendar and SIF. Open source and open standards are two good things. So I have found it difficult to explain precisely why it is a bad idea for K-12 Open Technologies, a recent intitiative by CoSN, IBM, and the Hewlett Foundation to lump them together and promote the two concepts as "open technologies."

The task of debugging huge computer programs can be made faster and easier by using new software tools developed by programming experts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

ARinfotek is shipping an entry-level, fanless network security appliance platform said to draw just 2.4 Watts. The Teak 3011 is based on an x86-compatible AMD Geode processor, comes housed in a compact steel chassis, and targets security appliances for SMBs (small- and medium-sized businesses).

Following the successful community-based marketing efforts that raised awareness of the FireFox browser, another grassroots organisation is planning a similar campaign to market the OpenOffice.org suite. The campaign's first project is to place a full back page advert in New York's free daily <i>Metro</i> newspaper.